From Reed Levinson, Mohamed Ramadan, and Giulia Paravicini

May 18 (Reuters) - A commander in Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, who was arrested late last year following a global outcry over videos showing him executing unarmed people in El Fasher, has been released and returned to fighting, nine sources told Reuters.

Two sources, a Sudanese intelligence official and a commander in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), said they personally witnessed RSF Brigadier General Al-Fatih Abdullah Idris, known as Abu Lulu, on the battlefield in Kordofan in March. A Chadian army officer told Reuters that RSF officers had requested Abu Lulu's return to the field to boost the morale of troops engaged in fierce fighting there.

Reuters spoke with a total of 13 sources who said they were aware of Abu Lulu’s release, including three Rapid Support Forces commanders, an officer in the forces, a relative of Abu Lulu, a Chadian army officer with ties to the Rapid Support Forces leadership, and seven other sources with contacts with the Rapid Support Forces leadership or with intelligence on its field operations.

A spokesman for the Rapid Support Forces-led coalition government responded to Reuters' questions on Monday with a statement denying that the forces had released Abu Lulu. According to the statement issued by Ahmed Tagad Lissan, spokesman for the "establishment" government led by the Rapid Support Forces, a special court will try him and others accused of committing abuses during the attack on El Fasher.

The statement read, "The talk that Abu Lulu has been released is untrue, malicious, and baseless... Abu Lulu and the others accused of violations during the liberation of El Fasher have been in detention in prison since their arrest and have never left prison."

Reuters was unable to reach Abu Lulu.

Sanctions for war crimes

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) detained Abu Lulu in late October 2025, days after their bloody takeover of El Fasher, a major city in North Darfur state. Several videos circulated showing him executing unarmed civilians during the attack. Following these videos, he became known as the "Butcher of El Fasher," a moniker used by the UN Security Council when it imposed sanctions on him on February 24 for human rights abuses.

The civil war, now in its third year, between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces is a bloody power struggle for control of the country and its financial resources. It has resulted in what aid organizations describe as the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Earlier this year, an independent UN investigation concluded that the mass killings in El Fasher bore the hallmarks of genocide. A separate UN investigation also found that more than 6,000 people were killed by Rapid Support Forces fighters between October 25 and 27.

Four videos verified by Reuters show Abu Lulu shooting at least 15 unarmed prisoners in El Fasher on October 27, after the Rapid Support Forces took control of the city. All of them were wearing civilian clothes. Killing anyone, even a former combatant, who is unarmed and poses no threat is a war crime under international law.

Following a wave of international condemnation from UN leaders, US politicians, and others, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, publicly acknowledged abuses committed by his fighters in El Fasher and said an accountability committee would be formed to investigate any violations. On October 30, the RSF released a video showing Abu Lulu being transferred to Shala prison southwest of El Fasher. The video shows Abu Lulu handcuffed, being led from a vehicle surrounded by armed men, and placed behind bars. An unidentified RSF spokesperson, standing outside the prison, says Abu Lulu “will be given a fair trial in accordance with the law.”

In November, Al Jazeera published a report stating that Abu Lulu had been released, citing unspecified online videos. However, on December 2, the head of the accountability committee appointed by the Rapid Support Forces told Reuters that Abu Lulu remained in their custody and that he and several other Rapid Support Forces soldiers were under investigation for abuses committed in El Fasher. Al Jazeera did not respond to Reuters' questions regarding its report.

Four sources told Reuters that Abu Lulu was released in December, but Reuters could not confirm the exact date of his release.

A relative stated that before Abu Lulu was allowed to return to service in Kordofan, he appeared before a disciplinary board of six senior officers in November. The hearing concerned videos in which he appeared that had damaged the reputation of the Rapid Support Forces. Reuters was unable to confirm that the hearing took place or its outcome.

Abu Lulu belongs to the same tribe as Hemedti, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to three sources—an RSF commander, an officer close to the leadership, and a researcher with ties to the committee investigating Abu Lulu—Hemedti's brother, Abdel Rahim Dagalo, the deputy commander of the RSF, personally ordered his release.

An officer in the Rapid Support Forces said that the disciplinary committee did not officially release Abu Lulu, but the deputy commander ordered his release via radio message.

Leadership responsibility

Abu Lulu's videos are among about 300 similar videos posted online, which Reuters analyzed with the Sudan Witness project of the Information Resilience Center.

Abu Lulu was the only commander identified by Reuters in videos shooting unarmed civilians. However, a Reuters investigation and the Sudan Witness project also found that three other senior Rapid Support Forces commanders were in the same area when the mass killings took place.

One of the videos verified by Reuters shows Commander Jadu Hamdan Abunoshok, the highest-ranking Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander in North Darfur, walking alongside Abu Lulu on the morning of October 27. Reuters geolocated the videos from this area and found that Abunoshok was filmed 40 meters from two other videos showing Abu Lulu executing unarmed men. By measuring the shadows in the three videos, Reuters concluded that they were filmed within a single two-hour period.

Under international law, these leaders could be held criminally accountable for crimes committed by their fighters during the conflict, according to Jehan Henry, a human rights lawyer and Sudan director at The Reconstruction Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit that documents war crimes.

The Rapid Support Forces did not respond to questions about the specific actions of any of the commanders present during the attack on El Fasher. On October 29, Hemedti stated that any soldier or officer who commits a crime will be arrested and investigated, with the results made public.

The spokesman, Taqad Lissan, said that the Rapid Support Forces government was delayed in prosecuting those accused of committing violations "because we are in the process of establishing state structures and in difficult circumstances."

He added, "We are committed to achieving justice and holding accountable all those who commit violations... Any talk to the contrary is deliberate misinformation."

Witness accounts

Reuters spoke to six survivors in refugee camps in Chad who said they saw Abu Lulu killing civilians in El Fasher before they fled in October 2025.

Manazil Musa, 25, said she recognized Abu Lulu from videos shown to her by a Reuters correspondent. She added that she encountered him on the road while fleeing El Fasher with her family. There, she said, he confiscated their phones and all their belongings, severely beat them, and then shot and killed her brother, Mubarak.

"Abu Lulu is the one who attacked us. He is the one who killed Mubarak. He is the one who killed our families and our husbands," she said.

Adam, 38, said Abu Lulu entered El Fasher University on October 27, where she was taking refuge with other civilians, and began killing women and children.

The report described a moment when Abu Lulu asked a pregnant woman, "What month of pregnancy am I in?" When she replied, "Seventh month," he shot her seven times in the stomach. Two witnesses described the same incident in a UN report published in February.

Madina added that Abu Lulu then ordered a group of 10 children to sit on the ground and forced them to chant Rapid Support Forces slogans while he filmed them. She said the children begged him not to kill them, but he shot them all.

Orders to remain silent

A Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander said the leadership ordered other officers to remain silent about Abu Lulu's return to combat. Another RSF commander and a relative of Abu Lulu said he was released on the condition that he not film or be filmed on the battlefield. Reuters has not found any images of him participating in operations since his release.

One of the Rapid Support Forces commanders, who asked not to be named, said, "He has been free for about three or four months, and he is on the battlefield with his forces."

Abu Lulu's relative indicated that the Rapid Support Forces needed his services because the troops were facing difficulties. After consolidating their control over El Fasher, the Rapid Support Forces shifted their offensive eastward into the Kordofan region, located between their areas of control and those held by the army, where they encountered fierce fighting.

A relative of Abu Lulu said, "He is very popular among the fighters, and this is good for boosting their morale."

In several videos verified by Reuters and Sudan Witness, other Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters praised Abu Lulu and the killings he committed. In one video, filmed and posted online on November 1, 2025, by RSF fighter Salah Abdeen Mohamed Azala, Azala says many fighters are ready to take Abu Lulu's place.

"If Abu Lulu disappears, or is arrested or put on trial, we are all a thousand Abu Lulus," he says in front of the camera. "I am also Abu Lulu."